I really love museums. 

This probably isn’t a surprising statement to read, given the title of this post. But it felt important to point out at the start. 

I’m afraid I’m one of those tedious people who wanders slowly around, stopping to read every label, open every drawer, listen to every audio snippet on my way round. I always been;  a voracious reader and inquisitive almost to a fault, it stands to reason that a giant building full of nothing but Things to Learn About would be paradise for me. 

Living as close to London as I do also means that school coach trips into town to visit the Big Ones (by which I mainly mean the Natural History Museum) were the highlight of my years as a child. And I’m incredibly lucky to have grown up in a family who nurtured my seemingly endless quest for knowledge, and took me to museums themselves when they could. 

When I go on holiday I always try and hunt out a local museum or exhibit to explore – often purely inspired by passing a brown road sign on my travels. I’m not really that fussed about what the collections are about – part of the delight of them is discovering an interest in something I never knew I could care about (tiles, anyone?). 

From the Mechanical Music Museum in Gloucestershire (which sadly closed in 2019) to the Walsingham visitors’ centre and the seemingly endless places that form part of the Ironbridge Gorge museums in Shropshire, I’ve seen some real gems.

Other than the fact it gives me an opportunity to learn something new about something, there’s also something incredible about sharing a space with everyday objects that belong to an entirely different place and time. Discovering the myriad ways that my life isn’t all that different to the lives of people decades, centuries, even millennia ago. Seeing someone’s stuff elevated to almost sacred status, tucked away behind glass to be gazed at reverently. Even in the midst of Big Historical Events, there’s still the cooking utensils, the doodles, the clothes, the jewellery and the reminders that life always goes on. 

But – other than my holiday exploring – I’ve rather neglected museum visits in my everyday life. There’s been a number of reasons, but I’ve realised over the past few months (in fact, since my visit to the aforementioned Ironbridge Gorge museums last summer) just how much I love them, and just how much I’ve missed them. 

In my continued quest to re-discover long lost loves and things that used to bring me joy, I’m trying to change that. I’ve made a giant list of everything I want to see (yes, it’s a spreadsheet, of course it’s a spreadsheet), and I’ve already started working my way through. And it’s already been a joy. I’ve learned loads. I’ve already got a new favourite museum. And it’s giving me lots more things to write about, and an incentive to actually sit down and write about them. 

I’ve got grand plans for the coming months – especially as we head towards summer and a wander across the city becomes a far more tempting prospect than it is in a cold, dark January. So, watch this space, I guess? 

Got a museum you want to recommend? Somewhere you think I’d love, or you just want me to visit? Leave a comment below!

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